Kevin Spacey Spotted On Set Of New Movie
Most of Hollywood may have cut him out, but Kevin Spacey is on the set for a new movie.
This article is more than 2 years old
Kevin Spacey re-emerges from Hollywood exile in Peter Five Eight, a little-known indie project he’s currently filming. The actor was spotted by TMZ on set in Dunsmuir, California, wandering the streets in his off time; he was found without his face mask, smoking a cigarette, and wearing an all-black ensemble. He looked to be in a cheerful mood, smiling and waving at passers-by. Separate pictures depict Spacey in a thin winter overcoat.
Peter Five Eight, a movie by visual effects artist Michael Zaiko Hall, also stars Jet Jandreau (The Trail). The title seems to reference a biblical passage in the First Epistle of Peter, which according to the New International Version reads: “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” The line evokes straight-up paranoia, necessitating a fight-or-flight reaction in the character it embodies; perhaps Peter Five Eight is a high-stakes thriller about a murderer on the loose, or subtle psychological horror where one’s own mind seemingly turns against us. Jandreau plays the heroine, Sam, while Kevin Spacey’s part remains a mystery. Very little has been written about the film, which already has the makings of a small-time, two-location indie feature.
Peter Five Eight is Kevin Spacey’s first American movie since James Cox’s Billionaire Boys Club in 2018. Widespread allegations of sexual misconduct involving underage actors plagued Spacey only a year prior, effectively writing him out of recent Hollywood history and making him a pariah among colleagues he used to call his friends.
He was cut out of House of Cards by Netflix executives shortly after the scandal hit, and was promptly replaced by his onscreen wife Robin Wright, who plays Frank Underwood’s First Lady, as well as other upcoming roles. Spacey was supposed to play petrol-industrialist J. Paul Getty in All the Money in the World, but was replaced by Christopher Plummer; similarly, he was cast as bisexual political writer Gore Vidal in a biopic, but was immediately let go. Kevin Spacey was about to receive the International Emmy Founders Award in 2017 when the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences backpedaled on the idea. He also lost his publicist, agent, and manager in the same year.
The 62-year-old disappeared from the public sphere following a poorly received apology post on social media, and hadn’t been cast in any features or television shows until late May. Kevin Spacey stars as a police detective in Franco Nero’s L’uomo che disegnò Dio — or The Man Who Drew God in English — an Italian crime drama about a blind artist accused of sexually assaulting a minor. The character is gifted with the ability to draw faces with nothing more than a voice, which he freely exploits to clear his name and overturn his charges. Spacey plays the man who assists and pursues him, but talk about art imitating life. The cast and crew shot The Man Who Drew God in Turin, Italy. Principal photography wrapped up on July 3.
The ongoing spate of sexual abuse allegations began in late October 2017, when Star Trek: Discovery’s Anthony Rapp divulged an incident involving Spacey way back in 1986; the South Orange native sexually propositioned Rapp while completely intoxicated. Kevin Spacey was 26; Anthony Rapp was only 14. The If/Then star had gone public about the assault in a 2001 interview with The Advocate, but declined to name Spacey to avoid outing the much older actor — who recently revealed being gay — and any sort of legal ramifications.
Since then, the intimations have crested, with other alleged victims including but not limited to: WCVB anchor Heather Unruh’s young son as well as actor Richard Dreyfuss’s, filmmaker Tony Montana, actor Roberto Cavazos, eight people working on House of Cards, and a group of theater kids from Spacey’s time as artistic director of the Old Vic. Kevin Spacey’s apology post was regarded by many as irresponsible and written in poor taste; instead of owning up to his behavior, the actor refocused the content of the message on his sexuality and how difficult he claimed he has had it as a previously closeted gay man. Victims and onlookers alike found the piece thoroughly invalidating for everyone that has bravely come forward in pursuit of justice — a narcissistic display of gaslighting and cowardice, as many commenters put it.
Despite the mounting evidence to prove Spacey’s guilt, all charges filed were eventually dropped, whether through the course of courtroom proceedings, the plaintiff’s inability to identify themselves, or the death of a complainant. The most recent summon comes from Anthony Rapp himself, who has formally sued Spacey in 2020. Peter Five Eight, starring Kevin Spacey and Jet Jandreau, currently has no release date.
